


Nightmare

by Katieboooo



Series: In the Darkness there will be Light AU [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hunk and Pidge are the Best Friends, Hurt Keith (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, Keith (Voltron) has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Lance is the best boyfriend, Nightmares, Shiro is the best brother, everyone cares, keith has a nightmare, keith is a foster kid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-20
Updated: 2019-11-20
Packaged: 2021-02-13 02:09:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21486586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katieboooo/pseuds/Katieboooo
Summary: Keith has a nightmare, dreaming he's back at that horrible place with his foster father.Shiro helps him and reassures him he's not going to back there—Can be read as a stand-alone, but might not make sense if you don't read the first part
Relationships: Keith & Shiro (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Series: In the Darkness there will be Light AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1548742
Comments: 2
Kudos: 91





	Nightmare

**Author's Note:**

> This is a scene that happens after the last chapter of in the Darkness There will be Light. I had this idea in my head and I wanted to put it down and to revisit this story. This is set a few months after the last chapter of In the Darkness There will be Light. He still healing, he's not going to be 100% and he never will be, but he is healing, slowly but surely. I don't know if I'm going to revisit this story again, but I just wanted to put this out there! Hope you all enjoyed!
> 
> Love you all~
> 
> >3<

_Keith whimpered as his foster father grabbed him around his neck, lifting him off the ground. He was smiling wickedly at Keith, his grip not wavering as he lifted Kieth with ease. He was so much bigger than Keith remembered, but he retained his smile, his glee when Keith whimpered. Keith felt tears escape out of his eyes._

_He thought he was free from this man, but of course, it wasn't real. It was never meant to be real._

_Nobody wanted him. It was no different._

_"You see," his foster father sneered, "I told you, you ungrateful brat. No one wants you; you're useless; nobody loves you."_

_"Y—You're lying," Keith squeaked out, hating how his voice cracked and how weak it sounded._

_The man laughed, the sound grating on his nerves, making him shiver._

_"See for yourself," he said and placed Keith on a chair, tying his hands around his back, no letting go anywhere._

_Keith struggled against the rope, but it held, and Keith couldn't move._

_"Keith."_

_Keith's head snapped up, and it was Hunk._

_"Hunk!" Keith exclaimed, "Hunk! Help me, please! He's back!"_

_Hunk stared at him, emotionless._

_"Why should I?" he replied._

_Keith froze and stared at Hunk, uncomprehending, "What? What do you mean? We're friends!"_

_"What are you talking about? No, we aren't, I don't know what you're talking about. I can barely tolerate you. Always so clingy, it's so annoying," Hunk said, voice monotone and as emotionless as his face, "I don't know why I put up with you, you're so annoying."_

_"Hunk, what are you—" Keith started, voice choked as Hunk's words hit him hard._

_"Jeez, can't you just shut up for one second?" Hunk's voice boomed, making Keith jump, chair jumped with him, "You're so annoying, just shut your mouth like before. If you do that, maybe I'll tolerate you. Maybe I can pretend to be your friend."_

_Keith felt more tears slide down his cheeks._

_Hunk suddenly disappeared, and Pidge appeared. Keith's eyes widened, and he pulled against his restraints, feeling the pain ricochet all over his arms._

_"Pidge! Please," he shouted, voice shaking badly._

_Pidge looked at him, eyes expressionless, and her face turned into a sneer._

_"Look at you, poor Keith," She mocked, "So weak, so desperate for friends, it was sad really, how much you wanted to become our friends. It was so annoying."_

_Keith felt his voice choke as he tried to speak again, "But you are m—my friends! W—we—You got me my first phone."_

_"Yeah, so we could talk through the phone instead of face-to-face, and so I could ignore you if I wanted to," she replied, "Seriously, you're so weak, look at you, crying all over the place. Pathetic."_

_Pidge disappeared, and Lance replaced her._

_Keith felt more tears come to his eyes, "Lance...please."_

_Lance stared at him, thinly veiled disgust marred his features._

_"Look at you," he said with a glare, "Poor little Keith, needing to be protected by his 'friends' from everything because he's so weak. So worthless."_

_"L—Lance, w—why are you doing this?" Keith asked, "I—I love you."_

_"Yeah, and it's gross," Lance replied with disgust, "The only reason I put up with you is because if I don't, you'd cry, and I hate it when you cry. You look so ugly, disgusting, like now."_

_Keith let more tears fall from his eyes freely, sobs shaking his frame, he felt his heart start to break._

_"Keith," Another voice._

_Keith looked up, seeing Shiro._

_"Shiro! Please let me out! Help me, please....please," Keith struggled, tears sliding down his cheeks with no end._

_"Why would I do that," He replied._

_Keith frowned and looked up._

_"What do you mean?" He asked._

_Shiro rolled his eyes, "Did you believe that I wanted you? What a joke, you're a nobody, nobody cares about you."_

_That felt like a dagger that cut into Keith's stomach, twisting and turning, Shiro controlling the dagger's movements._

_"Shiro," He mumbled, tears cascading down his cheeks._

_"You're worthless; I don't want you, nobody wants a trouble-making ungrateful brat."_

_Keith felt his world start to crack along with his heart._

_Shiro disappeared, and in his place, somebody Keith never thought he was going to see appeared._

_"Keith."_

_"Dad..." Keith mumbled, "Dad! Dad! Please, please!"_

_His dad stared at Keith with no emotion._

_"Dad! Please, let me out, please!"_

_"No," his dad replied, "No, I won't do that. You deserve it."_

_"What, no, dad!" Keith said, heartbreaking more and more._

_"Keith, you want to know why I ran into that burning building?" his dad asked, and Keith looked up at him._

_"B—because you w—went to s—save the li—little girl?" Keith asked, voice cracking and breaking._

_"No, I went because I didn't want to care for you anymore. I didn't want an ungrateful brat like you. Why would anybody want an ungrateful brat? You're horrible, I couldn't stand being around you anymore, so I left you alone. Like you should be, alone and lonely, that's what you deserve," his dad said._

_Keith felt his heart shatter into a million pieces._

_"No, Dad, please!" Keith whimpered._

_"Goodbye, Keith," He said,_

_"DAD!" He screamed._

————

"Keith!" Someone was shaking him, and Keith jolted awake with a scream, "Keith, Keith, buddy."

Keith's eyes were wide, but he could make out Shiro's concerned face before he pushed him away, pressing himself to the side of his bed.

"Keith," Shiro's eyes were wide with horrified fear.

Keith was staring at his with fear like he was _afriad_ of him.

"Keith," Shiro said, holding out a hand before Keith flinched away, pressing himself further away, "Keith, it's ok, it's just a dream, just a nightmare. You're ok."

Keith shook his head and shut his eyes, whimpering.

"Keith, look at me," Keith reluctantly opened his eyes and saw Shiro sitting at the edge of his bed, eyes on him, "Keith listen to me, you're ok, you're with me, everything's ok."

Keith shook his head.

_No, nothing was ok, everything was wrong. Everything was wrong, this was wrong._

"Keith," Shiro tried to reach towards him, but Keith let out a scrambled cry before bolting from the room.

Keith heard footsteps behind him and didn't dare stop as he bolted out of the house in nothing but his sleepwear.

"Keith!" he heard somebody shout, but Keith didn't listen, already bolting away, far, far away from this place.

He didn't know how far he ran, but he knew it was far. He needed to get away. He was breathing hard, hands shaking, eyes darting around everywhere, around the dark streets, the dark stores. He curled up into a ball under the shelter of a small storefront, hiding himself as he put his head into his arms and bawled. 

————

Shiro tried to follow Keith, but even though he was small, he was fast, and Shiro lost him to the darkness. He was breathing hard, and he ran his fingers through his hair as he thought of what to do.

He took out his phone and looked at his contacts, trying the first one he saw as he ran back to his house to get into his car.

_"Hello?" a groggy voice answered from the other side of the line._

"Lance?" Shiro asked he couldn't help the worry seep into his words. 

_"Shiro?"_ Lance asked, more awake and alert than before, _"What happened? What's going on?"_

"It's Keith," Shiro replied, "He had a nightmare, he was distressed, so I tried to calm him down, but he ran away. I don't know where he went; I'm trying to find him." 

Shiro started the car, hearing Lance talk to someone else before talking to Shiro again. 

_"Ok, we'll look for him too, do you know what his dream was about?"_ Lance asked, and Shiro could hear the worry and fear in his voice. 

"No, he wouldn't talk to me, but he seemed....afraid of me," Shiro replied. 

There was a bit of silence before Lance spoke again, _"Ok, ok, I'll let the others know, keep me posted."_

"Yeah, you too, ok?" Shiro said. 

Lance agreed, and they hung up, and Shiro started driving around the area, trying to find where Keith could be. 

————

Keith was running, all he could see was his friends turning his back on him, all of them leaving, leaving him alone.

_You're worthless._

_Pathetic._

_Useless._

Keith shook his head, trying to block out the thoughts, refusing to believe them, but they felt so real.

_I'm not wanted._

That thought made Keith stop in his tracks. He looked down at his bare feet, blurring as tears streamed down his cheeks.

_Nobody wants me. _

_It's always the same._

He looked around and saw snow softly falling, snowflakes landing all over the roads and the shops, making everything look magical, but he felt everything but. He looked at his hands that were starting to tremble. He wrapped his arms around himself, feeling so alone.

Hunk didn't want him.

Pidge didn't want him.

Lance didn't want him.

Shiro didn't want him.

_His dad didn't want him._

_His mother didn't want him._

Keith felt more tears resurface, and he sat back against a wall, knees up to his chest, his arms wrapped around them as he buried his head in them.

He felt so alone.

"ieth! Keith!" He heard someone shouting an undescribable about of time later.

Keith looked up and saw a blurry figure running towards him, followed by three people. Keith frowned.

Who was it? Nobody wanted him. Who could it be?

Unless.

Unless they want to hurt him.

Keith curled further into himself. If they wanted to hurt him, they could do that. He wasn't wanted, so it wouldn't matter.

Nothing would matter.

He tucked his head back into his legs, not wanting to see the wicked smiles on their faces as they beat him up.

Like his foster father.

"Keith?" It was a gentle voice, something Keith wasn't expecting to hear.

He carefully lifted his head and was met with four pairs of worried eyes. Shiro was close, but he wasn't touching, and Lance, Hunk, and Pidge were all a little ways away, watching with worried expressions, eyes wide in fear, they were all still in their pajamas. Lance was still in his blue slippers and had an eye mask haphazardly pushed up onto his forehead. Pidge's glasses were crooked, and her hair was a rats nest, and she had two different shoes on. Hunk was wearing his signature yellow headband sideways, and he was wearing one shoe and one sock. Shiro was watching Keith worriedly, he wasn't wearing shoes either, and he had pajama pants on and a coat over his bare chest.

Keith felt more tears fill his eyes.

"Hey, Keith," Lance started, but Pidge stopped him, shaking her head.

"Keith, hey, buddy," Shiro said softly, "What's wrong, buddy?"

Keith shook his head, lowering his head, so only his eyes were visible from above his knees.

"Keith, we can't help you if you don't tell us what's wrong," Shiro continued.

Keith shook his head more vigorously this time, burying his face in his arms again so he wouldn't have to see their angry faces that he wasn't talking. He didn't want to see their disappointed faces, and he didn't want to see their sympathetic faces when they told him they weren't going to be friends with him anymore or that they couldn't handle him anymore.

That he was just one big problem.

There was a hand on his shoulder, and he jolted, a high pitched squeak forming from his mouth and he jumped away, eyes wide with fear and terror. He clenched his eyes, waiting for the blow, biting his lips and his hands over his head. When none came, he opened one eye. He saw Shiro was his hand raised with wide eyes. The others watched his reaction with wide eyes and mouths agape. Keith felt his bottom lip wobble, and he bit it to make it stop. 

Seeing his uncomfortableness with them seeing him break down in the middle of the night, Shiro ushered the others inside the car, much to their dismay, before coming back to Keith, arms and hands fully visible.

"Keith, buddy, I'm not gonna hurt you, I promise," Shiro said carefully, kneeling next to Keith. Keith watched him warily.

"Keith, it's Shiro, I would never hurt you," Shiro said softly.

Keith stared at him and frowned at him but didn't say anything.

"Keith? Bud? I need you to talk to me. I don't know what's wrong, tell me so I can make it better?" Shiro said softly, still using a gentle tone.

_You can't. You're all going to leave me at some point. Nobody wants me._

Keith shook his head and felt more tears resurface.

"Hey, hey, hey, it's ok, Keith, it's ok," Shiro said softly, "Here."

Shiro took out his phone and opened the notes, and Keith took it into his shaking hands. He looked back up at Shiro, who gestured to the phone in his hands. Keith looked down and shakily typed out.

_Nobody stays._

Shiro frowned.

"What do you mean?" He asked, confusion coloring his voice.

_Everyone leaves at some point._

"Keith..."

_I'm gonna be all alone. Everyone is going to leave me._

"Hey, Keith," Shiro said, taking one of Keith's hands in his, ignoring how Keith flinched a bit at the contact. His hands were so cold, "I'm never going to leave, understand? I'm never going to leave, and neither is Lance, Pidge, or Hunk. We are all your friends and family, and we love you.'

Keith shook his head.

_No...no that's not true._

"What do you mean, not true?" Shiro asked and frowned, still not letting go of Keith's hand.

_They're gonna leave me, and you're gonna go at some point too._

"Why do you think that?"

_I'm too much. I'm a nuisance. You're all gonna get sick of me, I'm pathetic. My own parents left me._

Shiro frowned at Keith, "Where did you get that idea? Keith, you're not pathetic. Bud, you aren't a nuisance, I promise, you're the best thing that happened to me and everyone else."

Keith looked at him with a frown.

"Seriously, Keith, I love you so much," he said with a soft smile, "I don't know what I'd do without you, you mean to world to me. Come on, let's go home, yeah? Out of this cold? I'm sure Lance would be happy to warm you up."

Keith nodded at that and let Shiro help him up, and they both walked to the car that had Lance, Hunk, and Pidge watching them from the windows.

They all scrambled away when Shiro opened the car door and carefully placed Keith inside the warmed car.

"Hey, Keith," Lance said softly, wrapping an arm around him. Keith leaned into his warmth, "You ok?"

Keith hummed. Lance pulled him in closer and looked towards the front to where Shiro was driving them back to their house. Shiro met eyes with him in the rear-view mirror for a second before they were back on the road.

"You know I love you, right?" Lance said to Keith.

Keith tensed, and Lance frowned at him. They had confessed to each other a few months ago, and Keith always blushed and hid a smile whenever Lance said, 'I love you,' he never tensed up. He looked over at Hunk and Pidge, who were watching with a frown.

"Keith? Baby?" He asked and carefully pulled away.

Keith wasn't looking at him; he was looking away, looking uncomfortable. 

"Hey, what's the matter?" He asked voice, worried.

Keith didn't answer, and before they knew it, they were in front of Shiro and Keith's house. They all made it inside, and all sat on the couch, Keith in the middle between Lance and Shiro, Pidge and Hunk were at his feet.

"Keith, hey, talk to me," Lance said softly, brows furrowed together.

There was silence.

Lance widened his eyes and looked over to Shiro, who was watching Keith with a sad expression.

"Keith," Pidge suddenly spoke up, "Is this about the nightmare?"

Keith tensed.

Ding ding ding. Correct answer.

"Hey, Keith, you know it was just a dream, right?" Lance continued, "It's not real. None of it was real."

Keith was shaking more now; he wasn't looking at anyone, eyes diverted to the couch where he was picking at loose threads.

"Keith, do you mind telling us what the dream was about?" Hunk asked, voice worried and concerned.

His bottom lip wobbled, and he looked up at Hunk before Shiro handed him in the phone. He shook his head and opened his mouth and drew in a shaky breath.

"E—Everyone left," he said in a voice raspy with disuse, "You...You guys all l—left me a—alone. You all t—told me how I w—was a p—problem. A—and how n—nobody wanted m—me."

It took all his willpower not to burst into tears again. Without warning, Lance pulled him into his chest. Keith widened his eyes, tears forgotten.

Keith, we love you so much, don't ever doubt that, ok?" Lance said into Keith's ear.

More tears sprang to his eyes. He looked around at everybody who was watching him with sad expressions.

"Keith, you know we will never, ever leave you," Pidge said, pulling his hand towards her, "We care about you so much, you are so special to us."

"Yeah, you're not worthless or pathetic; don't ever believe that, ok?" Hunk said with a smile, "You will never be alone, we will always be there for you."

"And don't you ever forget," Shiro said, and Keith turned to look at him, "You are always wanted. You're wanted by everyone here, I promise you, we love you so much, we will always want you. You'll never be alone; we'll never leave you. We care about you too much."

Keith finally showed a small smile.

"Thank you," he whispered.

They all smiled at him.

"Now, I don't know about you, but I am beat," Hunk said, leaning against the couch.

"Same," Pidge replied, squeezing into the place at the very end of the couch between Lance and the armrest of the couch.

Shiro smiled at him, and Lance tightened his arms around Keith's frame.

"I love you so much," Lance said and kissed Keith's shoulder.

Keith smiled, "I love you, too."

"Now snuggle with me, you're way too cold!" Lance said, and Keith happily complied.

Waking up hours later still in Lance's arms with a blanket wrapped around him, no nightmare to dream of, he couldn't be happier.

He cuddled further into Lance's arms and smiled to himself.

_I have a family._

_I am wanted._


End file.
